Occasionally we encounter people in our lives who have an immediate effect upon us. We are struck by the selfless nature of their presence, the strength of their confidence, the wisdom in their eyes, or the warmth they radiate. Contact with such people can awaken our intelligence, curiosity and longing, and perhaps even inspire us to look deeper into the meaning of our ordinary lives. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche is one of these people.

​Unbroken lineages of wisdom traditions are rare in these times, and Kongtrul Rinpoche descends from a pure lineage of the Dzogpa Chenpo Longchen Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Born into a noble dharma family in Northern India, his father was the third incarnation of the great tertön Chogyur Lingpa, while Rinpoche’s first teacher, his mother, was a great and renowned practitioner, completing thirteen years of solitary retreat before she married. At the age of nine, Rinpoche was recognized as an incarnation of Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, by Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa. Raised in a monastic environment, Rinpoche received extensive training in all aspects of Buddhist doctrine. In particular he received the teachings of the Nyingma lineage from his root teacher, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Rinpoche also studied extensively under Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Nyöshul Khen Rinpoche and the great scholar Khenpo Rinchen.

Dungse Jampal Norbu is Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche’s son and Dharma Heir. Dungsela has lived and traveled extensively in Asia, but spent much of his youth in Colorado. If you were to ask Dungsela how long he has been studying the Buddhist path, he would say, “Since I was born.” Under his father’s wing he has received many teachings and transmissions, sometimes while the two were walking in the mountains of Crestone.

When Dungsela was still an infant, Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche instructed Kongtrul Rinpoche to train Dungsela to uphold and continue Kongtrul Rinpoche’s lineage. With life-long guidance from Kongtrul Rinpoche, particularly in traditional Buddhist shedra studies in India and the US, Dungsela now teaches widely as well as engages in an annual 100-day long retreat at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling. Dungsela's anecdotal style and first-hand curiosity about how Buddhism relates to actual experience imbue his teaching with a fresh perspective, and reveal a natural wisdom and humor.

Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel has studied and practiced the buddhadharma for twenty-five years under the guidance of her teacher and husband, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche. After meeting Rinpoche in Nepal, she became his first Western student. She has been intimately involved with Rinpoche’s work in bringing Buddhist wisdom to the West, particularly with the development of Mangala Shri Bhuti, an organization dedicated to the study and practice of the Longchen Nyingtik lineage.

Elizabeth has an academic backround in both Anthropology and Buddhist Studies, but her learning is also grounded in practice. After she spent many years in solitary retreat, Rinpoche appointed Elizabeth as Retreat Master at Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, Mangala Shri Bhuti’s retreat center in southern Colorado. Elizabeth is the author of The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha’s Path to Freedom and has written a new book, The Logic of Faith: the Buddhist Path to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt, which was released in February 2018. She has edited Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche’s two books, It’s Up to You and Light Comes Through, and teaches the Buddhadharma throughout the United States and Europe.